LG unveils Stretchable LCD display prototype with micro-LED lighting that can be stretched by 50%
LG Display has previewed the latest LG Stretchable display prototype that can be pulled, twisted, and stretched 50 percent longer than its normal 12-inch size up to 10,000 times without breaking. This improves upon the company's earlier 2022 prototype that could only stretch up to 20 percent.
The latest LG Stretchable display prototype was unveiled on November 8 at the LG Science Park in Seoul, South Korea. The latest prototype utilizes 40μm micro-LEDs with 100 pixels per inch (ppi) resolution, and the RGB pixels allow the display to create all colors of light.
LG Display began working on the project with 19 other organizations to create a stretchable display in 2020 after the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the South Korean government asked it to. The researchers working on this project, which included ones working at the Precedence Technology Laboratory at LG Display, published their paper "High-Resolution Active-Matrix Micro-LED Stretchable Displays" in 2023 detailing the technology. LG Display was also granted a US patent on the technology the same year.
In September, LG Display showcased the Stretchable displays on clothing worn by models at the 2025 S/S Seoul Fashion Week at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, South Korea. The company collaborated with fashion designers Youn-Hee Park (Greedilous founder) and Chung-Chung Lee (LIE co-founder) to create clothing that showcased their future design potential. Readers who can't wait to wear a shirt with an LG Stretchable display can buy an interactive glow-in-the-dark T-shirt for five minutes of fun.
Source(s)
LG Display Succeeds in Developing World's First Stretchable Display that Expands by 50 Percent
News provided by LG Display
Nov 09, 2024, 20:00 ET
SEOUL, South Korea , Nov. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Display, the world's leading innovator of display technologies, announced today its unveiling of the world's first Stretchable display capable of expanding up to 50%, the highest rate of elongation in the industry. At LG Science Park in Seoul on Nov. 8, the company demonstrated the panel at a meeting of more than 100 South Korean industry, academia, and research stakeholders involved in a Stretchable display national project.
LG Display’s Stretchable display
Stretchable displays are seen as the ultimate free-form screen technology because they can be freely transformed into any shape, including by stretching, folding, and twisting.
The new prototype features a 12-inch screen that stretches up to 18 inches, while simultaneously delivering a high resolution of 100ppi (pixels per inch) and full red, green, and blue (RGB) color.
Compared to the first Stretchable display prototype unveiled in 2022, the new panel's maximum elongation rate has more than doubled from 20% to 50%. This enhanced stretchability enables various display design possibilities, raising the technology's potential competitiveness when commercialized.
By applying a number of new technologies, such as improving the properties of a special silicon material substrate used in contact lenses and developing a new wiring design structure, LG Display improved the panel's stretchability and flexibility, exceeding the original national project's target of 20% elongation.
In addition, by using a micro-LED light source of up to 40μm (micrometers), the new prototype's strengthened durability means it can be repeatedly stretched over 10,000 times, maintaining clear image quality even in extreme environments such as exposure to low or high temperatures and external shocks.
Stretchable displays are not only thin and lightweight but also capable of adhering to irregularly curved surfaces like clothing and skin. They are expected to be widely applied in various industries, from fashion and wearables to mobility.
The company showcased numerous concepts for the application of Stretchable displays, including an automotive panel that stretches out into a convex shape and can be operated by hand as well as a wearable display attached to firefighters' uniforms that provides real-time information.
LG Display was selected as the lead company for the national project to develop Stretchable displays in 2020 and since then has been conducting joint R&D with 19 domestic industry and research institutes. It is one of the major tasks of a wider project to develop core technologies for next-generation displays promoted by South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) along with the Korea Planning & Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology.
By successfully completing the project, LG Display has not only secured core technologies that can lead the next-generation display market but also contributed to localizing materials, components, and equipment as well as building an R&D infrastructure.
"We will continue to build a sustainable future display ecosystem through close cooperation between South Korean industry, academia, and research stakeholders," said Soo-young Yoon, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display.
About LG Display
LG Display Co., Ltd. [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220] is the world's leading innovator of display technologies, including thin-film transistor liquid crystal and OLED displays. The company manufactures display panels in a broad range of sizes and specifications primarily for use in TVs, notebook computers, desktop monitors, automobiles, and various other applications, including tablets and mobile devices. LG Display currently operates manufacturing facilities in Korea and China, and back-end assembly facilities in Korea, China, and Vietnam. The company has approximately 70,707 employees operating worldwide. For more news and information about LG Display, please visit www.lgdisplay.com.
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SOURCE LG Display
